


Only human

by BloodyBlow



Category: The Venture Bros
Genre: Blood, Depression, Drinking, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Out of Character, Self-Harm, Some Humor, side Pete/Billy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-02-13 14:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12985815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodyBlow/pseuds/BloodyBlow
Summary: What happens when your inner demons break free?..Possibly, nothing good. But may be there is some hope.Hurt/comfort story in several little chapters.Warning: depression, self-hurm, drinking and may be somthing else.





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING:  
> Dear readers, the story touches some problematic serious topics. Please, remember that I don't intend to insult anyone by writing about that. I am really sorry if you suffer from some of things described in the fanfic (summary, tags). Please, don't read the story if you may feel depressed in this case.  
> Also there may be some slightly homophobic remarks that are typical for some of the characters. Please, perceive this remarks as necessity for story and characters development. I myself respect and support LGBT.  
> BETA:  
> If you are a beta and want to help me with the work - please contact (= Also I would gladly read any good suggestions.

“Huh, another of _that_ days, I guess”  
  
Dr. Venture simpered to himself and immersed into the bath.The water was slowly running with a pleasant sound full of peace and relaxation.  
  
“Boys are spending the night at friend’s” Rusty put his head back watching the ceiling. “So no worries about them fooling around with dangerous stuff in the lab”.  
  
_Pathetic._  
  
“Brock is probably having fun with Warriana… Arch enemies? They have different plans for today either. So here I am. Plenty time for myself”.  
  
_Useless._  
  
Rusty grinned and closed his eyes.  
  
“I am a successful man, running the biggest corporation in the USA, having a great time in New York City and being written about in newspapers”.  
  
_Who cares._  
  
“Every. Thing. Is. Perfectly. Fine” he exhaled. “I am fine. I am going to be fine. It’s just… fine”.  
  
The man looked down and traced the line on his thigh. He pushed his thumb harder into the flesh and flinched. The trickles of blood were running into the water.  
“That’s alright, I am a living person” Rusty cracked a smile. “I can feel down. There is nothing wrong in being a little bit scared. Everyone feels this way sometimes”.  
  
_Don’t. Feel._  
  
“I am, from the all people, have everything I need. I am the super scientist. I am Rusty Venture. I am totally fine”.  
  
_Cut._  
  
“I am alive, that is what matters. I am alive and I am great. Better than ever”.  
  
_Cut, cut, cut!.._  
  
“Ouch, damn it” Dr. Venture hissed and dropped the knife into the water.  
  
“Damn it, damn it, damn it” he whispered and shut his eyes once again finding odd comfort in extending pain.  
  
That wasn’t the first experience Rusty had with sharp objects. More accurately, it was about the fifth time he did this to himself. How had this even happened, you ask?.. Well.  
Well, Rusty had always had mental problems for no doubt. His own father had made his childhood and teenage life being hell, abusing him psychologically and generally being a jerk all the time. Rusty had seen dead maimed bodes and had been forced to kill at the very young age, that surly hadn’t benefited his development into a stable person either. And then later, after Rusty’s dad death, there had been too many high expectations for the man. Too many not to fall into depression. The times of diet pills had come then, shattering his nerves even more, obviously.  
  
But things got better eventually. Rusty realized he had somehow caring family and trustful friends; he even got rid of his drug addiction with the help of Billy. However, all of his past, all of his fails, all of his disappointments couldn’t fade away that easily. They had just been waiting to riming about themselves even harder in the most stressful situation.  
The great responsibility of being in charge of the prosperous corporation. The grown-up sons having their own life. Brock spending more time at Warriana’s than protecting the family. All that shit brought him down at once. And Rusty had done the only thing he knew how to do – he’d worn a mask of confidence and indifference. He didn’t show his weaknesses and fears. Nobody needed to know.  
  
***  
Back in the bathroom Dr. Venture was carefully drying himself with the pink terry towel.  
  
“Well… that is pretty bad” he murmured softly looking at the damage.  
  
“And that is going to the trash” the towel was stained with blood. “Isn’t that just great”.


	2. Someone needs help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'll keep you my dirty little secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought all the chapters would be small like the first one, hmm... And apparently a chapter takes much more time than I wanted.  
> Anyways! I hope you'll enjoy my little story. Next chapter will probably be ready in 2-3 days.

Rusty was careful enough not to arise much of suspicion. People were used to seeing him in closed clothing mostly, so it was even too easy to make all pieces with a short sleeve disappear from scientist’s wardrobe. Although, one day Brock had to break into Dr. Venture’s bedroom to find him napping unnaturally in the pajamas. And that led to a may be slightly awkward moment.  
  
“Get up, Doc, we are having kinda…hmmmm… an extreme situation down here” the bodyguard said calmly with his usual deep-voice. He glanced at waking Rusty once again and frowned at the sight of bright yellow pj’s. “And what the hell is that?”  
  
“Well…” the scientist caught and fixed his glasses. “I am just trying new things in my new life” he answered in slight irritation. “And that thing is unexpectedly comfortable”.  
  
“Oookay. Whatever. Waiting you down in 10 seconds, Doc”.  
  
So the episode with the pajamas was forgotten kind of shortly as something not ridiculous enough for the Venture’s family to remember about.  
Another time it was Dean who noticed a thin scalpel lying in the dad's drawer.  
  
“Oh, what? This?” Rusty took the knife like it was nothing. “Brock’s kept telling me about some weapon I could use for self-protection, you know”.  
  
“Umm, pop” Dean sounded confused. “Do we need to get something like this too?..”  
  
“Aw, don't be silly” Dr. Venture tossed the knife back in the drawer and shut it. “Villains are usually trying to kill me. Anyway… even I think getting this piece wasn’t such a good idea”.  
  
“Yeah, pop, you should just have bought a gun instead” Hank interrupted suddenly.  
  
“Jesus, Hank” Rusty jumped a little in shock. “Stop appearing from nowhere already!.. You aren’t a ninja, boy”.  
  
Little scenes like this could repeat over and over again being seen simply as Venture’s silly routine. However, Rusty wasn’t able to expect or prevent everything in his crazy life. That is why he could have never kept his secret to himself.  
It happened the day Reptilian aliens attacked the Venture Industries in seek of some deadly killing machine that no one knew about. For Rusty the great scrimmage ended up in him being brutally injured and then taken into Billi’s care to get emergency surgery.  
  
Dr. Venture’s awakening didn’t turn out to be the pleasant one. At first everything was pitch black for the man. And then he saw the bright blinding light… “What have you done, Rusty?” the distant voice asked dejectedly.  
  
“Oh, father is that you” the man whispered. “Have you come to take me with you?..”  
  
Slap.  
  
“What the hell did you do, White?” Billy crossed his arms and looked at his friend with annoyance.  
  
“What! It was for his own benefit” the albino looked pretty content with himself.  
  
“Oh, God... I think I can’t feel some part of my body.” Rusty tried to rise and sit on the bunk. With the help of friends he finally managed to do so and stared at them with a question in the eyes.  
  
“Ah” the Quizboy scratched his enormous head. “Don’t worry, buddy, it’s just anesthesia. You waked up a little earlier than we had expected”.  
  
“Oh, yeah. You should be glad you can’t feel your body now, Rust,” Pete tilted his head in sympathy. “The surgery wasn’t a simple one I could tell”.  
  
“But with my professional help you will be as new by tomorrow, my friend!.. Well, may be almost like new”, Billy didn’t waste his time and checked Dr. Venture’s pupils and pulse while talking.  
  
“Alright, alright, I get you” Dr. Venture brushed the surgeon off. “Now can you just help me to get to living room? What?.. Okay, fine, I’ll ask Brock or H.e.l.p.e.r. Where are my watches?”  
  
Apparently, the watches had been taken off by his friend for some reason and were lying in the distant table.  
  
“Look, Rusty” Billy appeared to be a bit nervous. “We… don’t want to kinda intrude your personal life in any means... We are your friends and we only want to help you… so if there is anything we can do…”  
  
“What is he talking about, White? Did he breathe some of anesthesia gas too or something?..”  
  
“We’ve seen your cuts, Rusty.”, the albino blurted out.  
  
And then for Dr. Venture the time had frozen. Many things ran through his troubled mind. Millions of whatif’s hanged in the air. “They are despising me now, aren’t they… ”.  
  
“Rusty, stop spacing out” Billy was shaking his friend by the shoulders. “We want to help you. What can we do to make you feel better?..”  
  
“Promise me not to tell anyone” Rusty grabbed the man by his collar and pulled him closer. “People don’t need to know this, you understand?..” he let go.  
  
“Al…alright. We could do this” Billy started and was shortly interrupted by Pete. “Only if you promise us to go to the psychotherapist. I actually know a real good one with a diploma, some awards and all that needed stuff”.  
  
"What?! Do you really think that I... I don’t need some stranger to dig through my brains! Billy, aren’t you a doctor yourself now?.."  
  
****  
  
"Yes, Mr. Venture, you really did have traumatic relations with your father. You hate him, yet you want to be like him. I agree, that this issue is your biggest problem. However, let’s put it aside for some time and talk about something else."  
  
"What do you mean?.. It’s as plain as day that my failures is my father’s fault!.." Rusty was lying on the fancy coach for the therapy feeling being ridiculous and having doubts about the whole idea. Why had he even agreed for this? He could have just threatened Billy and White to be fired. "I guess, I was too high to come up with this bright idea" the annoyed man thought.  
"Let’s talk about your bodyguard, Mr. Venture" the voice from the back of the room encouraged.  
  
"About Brock?.. What do you want to know except the fact he is my bodyguard?" Rusty frowned not fully understanding psychologist’s motives.  
  
"Tell me about the first time you met him once again" the voice calmly asked.  
  
"Well... that was back in college. The man appeared to be my roommate. You know, I had recognized the type right away. Playing football, being popular, changing girls every day - this kind of guy. We could never ever get along back then. We barely spoke. Ha, and I confess that I even hated him a little. Imagine trying to sleep while that big guy having fun every night in the same room. And look at us now, we are like a family".  
  
Rusty went silent for a moment while thinking about strange coincidences that could happen in life.  
  
"So, what exactly makes Mr. Samson being a part of your family?"  
  
"What do you mean by that?.. I would have been probably dead if not for him".  
  
"Yes, of course. But anyway Brock is not the only bodyguard you had, Mr. Venture. And the others dealt with the job just fine too. Don't you think so?"  
  
"Phh, please!.. They could never compare with Brock. He is a killing machine, the best man in his field. He doesn’t have any weaknesses" Dr. Venture was lost in thought for a second. "Well, except for the family. He may seem like a rough heartless type, but he loves my boys".  
  
"And what about you? Does he have warm feelings towards you too?"  
  
"Eeem, I guess… we have an understanding".  
  
"Do you consider him a caring person?"  
  
"Is my bodyguard a caring person... well, that is an interesting question to ask. Let me think for a moment there, hmmmm. If he kills he usually makes it fast, so the victim doesn’t suffer a lot. So I guess, the answer is kind of yes then".  
  
The awkward silence filled the room. Rusty felt that the psychologist didn’t buy his bullshit and was waiting for the proper answer.  
  
"Well, okay!.. If you want to talk about Brock instead of my problems, very well. I could do this too" Dr. Venture squirmed on the soft pillows. "As I’ve said. Brock is always concerned about the boys. Sometimes he helps them with advice, sometimes with studies. Oh, and what it takes to help me caring about them when they are sick is a whole different story. He even looks after me when I am sick myself. I remember him making me soup once or twice in that occasion".  
  
"I see, I see" the man hummed. "So what it is like when he takes care of you like that? Do you feel like it is a part of his job?"  
  
"Wha... what?" Rusty seemed to be a bit lost. He didn’t understand what the psychologist wanted to prove or refute. "Of course, it wasn’t his job. He had probably just felt bad for me but... it was nice to be cared about, I guess".  
  
They talked a little longer about different topics just touching them slightly so the schedule of future sessions could be done. When the time came to its end the man summed up his observations.  
"Well, Mr. Venture. I would highly recommend you trying to express your feelings more often. And by this I am stating that you have to be honest with yourself first of all. Stop having your father as a role model and start thinking for yourself. You remember him being successful, recognizable, praised, in company of beautiful women. And that is what you have been trying to achieve. But is it what you really want? For example, your desire to be likable by any pretty woman around - that is the legacy of your father. But do you really need it? It would be more likely for your type to wish to find a loving wife for you and mother for your sons. Just like your brother did. But apparently this place is already taken by your bodyguard, Mr. Venture...”  
  
"What the hell are you talking about??"  
  
*****  
  
"Are you fuckin kidding me?" the angry face of Rusty appeared on the screen on Billy's watches.  
  
White and Billy exchanged confused looks and turned back to see their friend gesturing angrily.  
  
"The psycho you recommended is a bloody scum!.. I’ve been only on one session with him and he’s already made diagnosis! It is just unbelievable!.. Me, Rusty Venture, the super scientist being accused in such things" the man googled his eyes at a thought.  
  
"Calm down, Rust" Billy tried to bring some common scenes. "Why are so on edge? What did he say?.."  
  
"He said I am...gay!" he yelled.  
  
"What? Saying things like that straight in the face is not look like him at all" White surprised.  
  
Rusty breathed heavily.  
  
"Well, he did not say it straight" he emphasized the last word. "But even a fool could understand what he meant!..".  
  
"Come on, Rusty, you making things up" Billy suggested friendly. "Unless you are... you know..." he and White glanced at each other again.  
  
"Oh, Jesus!.. Are you serious? That's all, I am out!" and with that he ended the call.


	3. You are not alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Queen - Don't Try Suicide  
> ***  
> A failure in writing fanfics is writing a fanfic about a failure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, yeah, yeah! If you were waiting for some salshy stuff to start happening - here you go! (=  
> Seriously, it was a little hard for me to edit this chapter. You know, I am not really good at writing and still haven't got much support from you, guys. Tell me how I could improve my story and writing skills ^_^

Brock didn't wait a second after he had known that Ventures residence had been invaded by assassin robot monkeys once again, second time in a month. He took his car and drove full speed ignoring the lights.  
  
"That is strange", Brock thought accelerating, "doc would have already called me in this situation". The annoying sixth sense made him eager to face the unknown danger. That is why he was unpleasantly surprised being faced by an empty hall with sleeping Sargent Hatred. That wasn’t good at all. “Looks like a possible trap to me”, the blond man considered. He got in the elevator and was taken to the upper floors.  
  
The lights were turned off everywhere and it was strangely quite in the rooms. Brock reached out for his knife and started to walk soundlessly through. His eyes had already got used to the darkness and to his confusion everything looked pretty fine. The only strange thing Brock eventually noticed was the fading light coming from the bathroom. Without a second thought he rushed forward and violently broke down the door.  
  
"Oh my God!" Rusty screwed up his eyes most likely in sudden pain and tossed something on the floor. He was pressing his hand against the wrist, blood running down the arm slowly.  
  
"What the fuck, doc?!" went the bodyguard after watching the performance.  
  
***  
  
Brock was silent keeping a close eye on a wound that he was treating. He felt frustrated and angry and decided not to call Billy because of the cut. Rusty surly could use some pain as a punishment for things he had been doing. Quite frankly, the scientist didn’t even need Billy’s attendance because he luckily managed not to hurt himself badly. The man didn’t touch the artery after all.  
  
Dr. Venture were shooting glances at Brock, waiting him to say something, apparently.  
  
“A bit to the side, Doc, and you could be dead”, the bodyguard said coldly.  
  
Even in a situation like that when Rusty understood he was wrong and busted he just couldn’t genially admit it. He couldn’t do it because it felt like admitting him being a failure. Showing your weaknesses isn’t the right thing to do. And once again Dr. Venture did the only thing he could.  
  
“Let's be real here, Brock” he answered mockingly. “If you didn’t scare shit out of me you wouldn’t even need to place a _patch_ on it. Ouch!..”  
  
“So, it’s all my fault, yeay?” Brock continued his job not looking up. He thought it would be the best for him so he could calm down a little. He was pissed. At Rusty and at himself. Brock was supposed to protect the man and yet he hadn’t even realized something like that could be happening.  
  
“So, I have to protect you from… you? Is it how it’s gonna be now?” Brock still didn’t face his companion and was stitching the wound.  
  
Rusty sighed. “I don’t know… it’s complicated. Just... how did you find out about that? It was White and Billy, right? Those little!..”  
  
“Wow, wow, wow!..” the blondie raised a hand. “They’ve known about dat?! Even before me?! And they didn’t tell me ‘bout it!..”. He clenched a fist and continued in a distant voice “I swear I’ll kill ‘em”.  
  
Rusty felt confused. He couldn’t put his finger on the Brock’s behavior. It’s like the man had never been emotional about Rusty’s problems. So obviously, the scientist had to find a different reason. “Come on, Brock, you are overreacting!.. I bet you in the mood cause of that _woman_ of yours”.  
  
“Who?..” Brock genuinely didn’t get the reference at first. “You mean Warriana?.. She’s got nothing do with my mood”.  
  
The bodyguard finished the stitch and fixed it. “So. How long has it been happenin’?”  
  
“I’ve… I’ve d just tried something new”.  
  
All of a sudden Brock leaned forward and grabbed Dr. Venture’s arm. The blond man rolled up scientist’s sleeve revealing a bunch of half-held shallow scars and some old ones too.  
  
“Okay, okay”, Rusty snatched his arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want anyone to know. It’s my personal problems”.  
  
“You _can’t_ hide those things from your family, doc. And especially not from me” the man rubbed his eyes as he was tired. “So... what is it ‘bout?”  
  
Rusty sighed heavily and leaned his back on the coach. He didn’t feel like talking at all but couldn’t use silly excuses either.  
“The same all depression, I guess... it’s just that I can’t use my diet pills any more so I’ve tried something else”.  
  
“Okay... didn’t realize it was that bad. So what will make u feel better, doc?”  
  
“Oh Jesus, I don’t know, Brock” Rusty raised his hands in the air in irritated gesture. “Being as successful as my father may be. Or being Hercules like you are. Or may be being young and naive like the boys!.. Just… not being a failure as I am”.  
  
Brock was confused. He’d always thought that doc hadn’t been serious while saying something like that. It had been always presented like a joke. “Oookay. We'll figure something out”.  
  
“You know, I am so tired with all this shit today... You won’t believe, but Billy and Pete had me going to a psychologist who turned out to be some incompetent scum”.  
  
“Alright, I get it. So we’ll talk about … all that later?”  
  
That was the thing Rusty hadn’t wanted to happen. He would gladly forget about the accident and all. And he hoped that Brock wouldn’t be so strangely interested in his petty self too…  
  
“Yes, of course” it wouldn’t be clever to answer another way. “So, emmm, I am going to my room now”.  
  
“Don’t do anything stupid”, Brock said harshly and walked out.  
  
The truth is Rusty was emotionally exhausted. He didn’t have any willing to do anything stupid or not. He barely made himself get up the coach and walked to his room. Wearing his cozy pajamas, taking off glasses, getting into the bad – somehow it all felt unreal.  
  
The door squeaked slightly.  
“You didn’t think I would leave you by yourself, did ya?" Brock walked through the door and closed it shut.  
  
"Sorry?.. What do you mean by that? I can look after myself", Rusty raised a little with frowned eyebrows.  
  
"Naha, I’m no buying this". The blond man stood next to the bed taking of his T-shirt. Dr. Venture could only roll his eyes on this.  
  
Lying on the very side of the bed the scientist imagined how ridicules the scene looked through somebody else’s eyes. He felt weird and so tired. He didn’t want to think any more and just felt into the arms of Morpheus.  
  
Brock on the other hand didn’t manage to fall asleep easily. He had been turning from one side to the other constantly. After an hour or so it seemed the reality had finally started to blur. And then something dangled the mattress on the opposite side. Brock’s companion was breathing heavily. Apparently, he had experience a pretty bad nightmare.  
The bodyguard felt the weight lifting from the bed. By excellent reflexes he grabbed Rusty’s hand.  
  
“Hey, where do you think are you going?..” the bigger man asked half asleep.  
  
“I...I need to go to the bathroom” Rusty sounded frustrated and scared a little.  
  
“Well, than I’m commin’ with ya. Sure you still wanna go?”  
  
The scientist glanced in disbelieve and flopped back at the bed with his head down. "I’ve just realized... I am an addict, Brock. I fall into bad habits too easily. It’s like my own subconscious wants to get rid of me".  
  
"I think I have no choice" Brock muttered and grabbed Rusty in a tight embrace. That happed quite quickly so the scientist couldn’t even resist. He opened his eyes widely "What are you doing?.."  
  
"I know it’ll make you sleep better. And I do really need you to sleep now. So hush, no more talkin’”.


	4. Pretender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Queen – Machines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys!.. I'm here with a new chapter. Why does it have to be so long? I don't control myself, help xd  
> Also I don't have beta so if u notice mistakes, please, tell me.  
> Also ur comments and kudos really help me to go on with the fic! Love my readers <3

The morning surprisingly appeared to be a nice one. Rusty had slept soundly and hadn’t seen any more of nightmares so the life didn’t feel as a total disaster. He was still half asleep, finding comfort in the unusually warm bed.

Making himself more comfortable, the scientist slightly moved back with his hips and heard a peaceful mumbling in response. Just after _that_ the sleepiness went right away. Obviously, Rusty still had been lying in a hugging position with Brock. And not just lying but pressing the ass right against his companion’s impressive boner.

That was kind of awkward indeed so the scientist tried to get out of the iron embrace. Unfortunately, this attempt ended up in Rusty being pressed into his bodyguard even closer.

"Ya’r smellin’ like honey, baby” Dr. Venture heard Brock murmuring in his sleep.

"Woman’s shower gel treats my skin better" the response was faint and breathy as the smaller man’s chest was squeezed so hard he couldn’t speak normally.

Rusty felt like it probably wouldn’t take much time for him to be squashed. So that was the first time he was happy to hear JJ wishing him a good morning loudly. Brock immediately let go his hands and reached out for the beloved knife. It was angrily tossed right into the hologram. Meanwhile Rusty rolled away to the different side of the bed coughing.

"What the hell" Brock sounded annoyed. He looked around and stretched.   

"Totally forgot I spent a night ‘ere".

Soon enough men were clothed and headed to the kitchen to have their breakfast. Rusty mentioned he would be working in the lab with Billy and Pete almost the entire day probably. That was because Dr. Venture had decided to prepare properly for the next science convention. And for Brock it was a good thing – he had his plans for the day as well.

***

The four of them were sitting at the table and having their meal – Rusty, Brock, Dean and Hank. At the same time Hank was typing something on his phone, Dean was staring intensively at his serial, Brock was just smoking and Rusty was going over the morning newspaper.

“So, Brock, how do I impress a girl?” the blond teen asked all of a sudden trying to sound as if he didn’t really care to hear the advice.

“Hm, I thought you’ve already been dating Sirena” Brock frowned – it definitely wasn’t a good idea to piss off a super-villain’s daughter.

“Ahaha, well” Hank sounded proudly and sat up straight. “I actually _am_ dating this beautiful lady”. After saying that the young man showed a little bit of worry on his face.

“But I still feel I’m not… like, you know, cool enough for her”.

“Just be yourself, kid. She’s dating you, so she already thinks you’re cool” Brock simply didn’t understand the ability of the boys to make simple things harder.  

Rusty, of course, couldn’t resist saying something at a moment like this too.

“That all is great Hank, just... remember I am too young to have grandchildren”.

“Ew, pop. Don’t even start to talk about the flowers and the bees. Please” Hank made a discontent grimace.

“Oh, come on!.. Anyway, you are kind of adults now” Rusty smirked. “That means I can talk to you without allegories”.

“No,no,no! It would be even worse!.. I think talks like that might be the reason why Dean is... ouch!” quite obviously Dean angrily kicked Hank under the table. That was pretty unusual for his calm personality; however, the others decided to ignore the scene.

Soon after that the breakfast was over and everyone was on their way.

Rusty found himself alone in the quite apartments, and it wasn’t bad to take a rest from all the noise at least for a while. He still had about twenty minutes before the meeting in the lab so he took his time to finish the morning paper. Gladly, there was nothing bad about Ventures Industries; quite frankly things had been going fairly okay lately. But it wasn’t that simple. It was scary. Because the bigger they come, the harder they fall.

The newspaper was tossed aside and Rusty was looking back at the last evening events. "Well, now Brock definitely thinks I am a pitiful disaster". He sighed and scratched his arm. "And noooo doubt, Billy and Pete will torture me with their silly questions..."

 The scientist stood up and headed to the lab continuing his cogitations.

"I guess, they are right. That is... fucked up. But so I am. And, yes. I've always known it...".

***

The guys were in the lab and as Rusty had supposed they were fooling around. By the mess on the working table DR. Venture figured out they had just had their breakfast sandwiches.

“Hey, Rust” Billy greeted him shining and White waved hello too.

“How you’ve been doing?” the albino asked with his normal voice as if nothing had happened.

“Fine. Ready to work. So how about returning to our project?” the man put his hands on the hips.

“Ah, didn’t you want me to check your wound first?..” the Quizboy asked shyly. “Brock kind of talked about that”.

So the checking he did. Billy noticed that Brock’s treatment wasn’t too neat but it was proper. The wound had begun to heal.

“Uhh, just don’t scratch it any more, okay?” Billy asked and got the eye-rolling from his friend.

“Can we begin working already?”

You know, work could really be the thing that make you forget about stuff around and even about yourself. When you are focused on complicated calculations you don’t have time for feelings. So Rusty didn’t even notice how fast time had passed.

“Hey, guys, the pizza has arrived” Pete said kicking the door open and entering the room with cardboard boxes in hands.

“Come on, everyone, let’s have lunch! By the way, I have something special too” White grinned and pulled out a bottle of vine from somewhere.

“Are you serious?” Billy frowned.

“What?! Couldn’t friends have a nice time together from time to time?”

“But it is the middle of the day... And it is not even a weekend” Billy spoke a bit confused.

“Oh, stop this noise” Rusty cut off. “I guess, we are pretty much ahead with our project anyways. So why fuckin’ not”.

***

Brock was lying on the bed puffing grey steams of smoke. It was the strongest type of cigarettes you could find on marked.

Warriana was sitting next to him with a laptop on her knees. She had been working on something.

The blond man looked at her with a strange apathy. He definitely thought she was unique. She was the woman that had really impressed him - strong, beautiful, intelligent and dangerous. Sex with her was animal-like - harsh and full of lust, the way Brock liked it. No deep feelings, no attachments. Only meeting of the needs.

The man was sure she felt pretty much like he did about the whole thing. She didn’t consider him as someone to sing under her balcony or write sloppy poems. He was her sex-machine and that was quite enough.

“So. Are you leaving or are you keeping looking at me, weirdo?” she asked in a deep voice not turning away from the screen.

“Okay, okay, let me change first”. He grabbed his jeans and started to put them on.

“You know, I probably won’t be droppin’ by that often. Just... uum, have some issues at Venture’s”.

The woman put her head up checking Brock out and appreciating the view.

“That’s a pity, Heracles. Anyway, you know where to find me”.

The next thing Brock knew he was on the streets with a smouldering butt of a cig in the month. He spit it out and headed home.

***

It was about 3 o’clock when the blond man got to the Venture Industries. He glanced at the security place and frowned.

“Hey, Hatred what are ya doin’?”

“Ummm, just very important research stuff...” the large man answered. Also his answer sounded more like a question.  

“You are playing videogames, aren’t ya?”

“Yeeees... but it’s not my fault this time! Rusty asked me to”.

Brock was confused a little although he didn’t show it. His face remained calm as a stone.

“I thought he would work the whole day.  Well, all right then”.  He pulled the computer’s plug out and then got into the elevator.

As expected the living room met Brock with Rusty sitting on the couch in front of a huge screen.

“Hey, Doc. What are you up to?” his voice sounded deep and indifferent.

“As you can see _nothing_ anymore ‘cause Hatred managed to fail our mission and get us all killed”.

As Rusty turned, the bodyguard noticed a new bandage on his arm and screwed eyes up.

“Hey, what is that?”

“Ah, we've just had an accident in the lab” Rusty said simply trying to drop the subject.

“You mean, cutting yourself type of accident?” Brock was surly annoyed.  

“What?.. I am not that desperate to do this right before my friends’ eyes, Brock.

“So what was that than?”

“It was Billy. Pete all of a sudden decided to put some of our previous "behave" liquid version in his glass. And of course, it had… some consequences. I mean… Billy got absolutely crazy”.

Either he was that much of a good liar either he was telling the truth, Brock thought. Anyway, it wouldn’t be a wrong thing to watch over doc for some time. Especially now, when Rusty had obviously nothing to do.


	5. My new obsession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Queen – You're My Best Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone!  
> I was on holidays so I did nothing. But now I am back!  
> And I intend to finish this fic (= So, encourage me with your comments and kudos so I could see u want more <3

As had been expected, Rusty couldn’t give up his cutting habit that easily. So soon enough Brock found other fresh scars on the scientists’ wrists. And it even seemed that the smaller man stopped hiding them _that_ carefully from the bodyguard.

Brock hated that. He hated watching Rusty acting normally or even more friendly than usual. Because the blond man knew it was a façade, just a farce. He presaged this would end up bad.

That is _exactly_ why Brock decided to nip any of Rusty’s self-harm attempts in the bud. The bodyguard wasn’t inspired by a thought of putting up with such bullshit. As well as he wasn’t sure what to do.

Usually “Brock therapy” included good old man talking over a beer. However, the scientist wasn’t a simple case as he wasn’t a person to be honest about regrets, fears and deep thoughts. Dr. Venture was the one to pretend everything was fine and then go cut himself for some more (“it was surly the last time, calm down” – sure it was, _suuuure_ ). The only thing Brock could do in such a situation is to be around his friend constantly not leaving him alone more than necessary. And it worked.

***

At the beginning of the week two men felt uneasy staying so long next to each other. Several times Rusty even tried to stay with Pete and Billy longer but they weren’t fond of overworking so...

So Rusty and Brock had to find new thing to do together except dealing with super valiances. At first it was just watching some new films with couple of beers and greasy popcorn. But this couldn’t last long – Rusty felt bored by this activity pretty quick and started complaining like a spoiled child. That’s when Brock dragged him to the secret agents base right into the shooting gallery.

“What are we doing here, Brock?” Dr. Venture crossed his hands on the chest looking around.

“Hey, don’t be so grumpy” the blond man popped out assembling the rifle.  “I took you to an extremely secret place. Consider yourself special”.

“Weeeell… Okay, that’s interesting. But what are we doing _here_ ” the man looked around the room and frowned a little.

“What are you thinking, genius?” the blond man smirked. “Where are going to practice in shooting.  It doesn’t need much of a physical training and could kinda calm you down”.

The scientists sighed and took the handled rifle.

“I guess, you remember, that I have a poor experience in that. I sure killed a guy back in my childhood but that isn’t a pleasant memory”.

“Doc, it’s a shooting gallery. You don’t have to kill anybody” Brock leaned on the wall and put on soundproof headphones. “Just take it as a completely new experience, that doesn’t have anything to do with your childhood or your father, okay”.

The muscular man grabbed one more pair of headphones from the rack and wore them on Rusty. He stood closely behind the scientist and silently showed him the basics.  

For Brock’s own surprise Dr. Venture turned out to be an excellent learner in shooting. 

“Sooo… what exactly must be hard in this?” Rusty asked turning around and taking off his headphones. “Of course, I’m not so bad in that. I probably _would_ be if I were under pressure”.

“Well that is great” near the Brock there was standing some agent in a black and white uniform, grinning. “Because we’ve just gambled about you being able to get 100% result by the end of the week”.

“Sorry, what?.. I didn’t sign up for that!..”

“Em, I’m sorry, Doc. But I just couldn’t resist putting this brat on his place after thing he’s told me” Brock worked his jaws in a badly hidden anger. “And after seeing you in action today – I am pretty sure in our victory”.

“Ahh, Brock!.. Didn’t you hear me talking about the _pressure_?..”

Rusty had no other option but to agree practicing in shooting not to let his bodyguard down. However, nothing comes that easily.

***

The next morning Brock found himself standing next to the lab table in a white lab coat. Strangely enough he thought that could be a good beginning of a bad porno.

All three of scientists, Rusty, Pete and Billy were preoccupied with their own business: weighting some substances, sorting out powders, measuring stuff and giving Brock some brief assignments.

“Yes, yes, yes, it’s almost ready” Billy lisped excitedly. “Quickly, trainee, add that chlorophyll green liquid in there!..”

“What? Trainee?” Brock frowned.

“Hurry up, man or everything’s over!.. Chlorophyll green”, Pete cried out continuing changing the burner’s temperature slightly.

“What does it even mean” the blond man rushed to the table and looked over it. There were at least five similar bottles of the green liquid without any signs. The man googled his eyes and just grabbed the closest bottle and poured the liquid into the flask.

“No, no, no” the only thing Rusty was able to say before everyone heard an explosion.

After the smoke cleared the scientists could observe Brock with a poker face. He had extremely messy burned hair; his coat was partly burned as well. The man was still holding the bottle with green liquid.

“Uhh, that’s the Bitter Lime green, Brock” Rusty giggled after being sure the bodyguard hadn’t been hurt.

“That’s bullshit. I don’t need to know all that fancy names for colors. I’m not a house designer” Brock took off his lab coat and tossed it on the chair. “That’s it for today! For you too, Doc. Waiting you in ten minutes upstairs.”

***

The time flied pretty fast and soon enough Brock and Rusty were hand washing the red Ferrari of the agent Zero.

“Nighty five percent, Rusty! Nighty five, c’mon!..” Brock exclaimed.

“I’ve told you!.. The pressure” the smaller man answered rolling his eyes and continued his work.

“And who even has a Ferrari as an agent vehicle .That’s ridiculous” the bodyguard smirked.

They both kept silence for a minute rubbing the car.

“Feels like a start of a bad porno” Rusty muttered.

“Deja vu”.

***

More time passed by and Brock and Rusty hadn’t even noticed that their compelled staying together became something quite fascinating for them both.

One day they had to fight super villains, the other day they spent at the secret agents base or at the science lab testing new prototypes. Sometimes they just watched TV or went to a bar.

Even sleeping together transformed into a nice habit. Brock eventually stopped kicking Rusty from the bed and the latter began sleep more soundly than ever. And sometimes, just before closing their eyes, two men had their private conversation. A minute of sharing the deepest feelings, fears or expectations. Types of things you couldn’t just talk about in the daylight that easily.

At the end of the 3d weekend Rusty felt great.  He had stopped scratching his wounds so there weren’t any on his body anymore. He started to enjoy his life more than he had. He understood he could get much success if he wanted - he had trained to shoot perfectly, his company’s new invention was a success at the conference. Apparently, Brock had just infected the scientist with self-confidence. Of course, Rusty still wasn’t content with everything in his life - but hey, it wasn’t so bad either.

And then that day has come. Brock suddenly got the dangerous and urgent mission from the superiors. He couldn’t tell anyone about this to protect close people from possible harm. So one night he just packed his bag, jotted down the note for Rusty, glanced at the sleeping man for a short goodbye and snuck out.

The scientist woke up after having a disturbing dream and found himself alone in the bed. He reached for the glasses and then for the note. He wouldn’t see Brock at least for several days.

Rusty felt frustrated. All of a sudden there was something very important missing in his life. He anxiously scratched his arm.  

There was nothing more to do for Dr. Venture but to let the habit rule his life – he put on his robe and went to breakfast. Then to the lab. Then he had lunch with Billy and Pete. Then back to the living room to the flat TV screen. Things felt… not right.

At the end of the day Rusty realized that his obsession with cutting hadn’t been able to go away that easily. It had just been replaced. And, possibly, replaced with the worst thing.

He pressed his ear harder to the phone and repeated “Yes, tomorrow at 10 am. I will be there”.


	6. The reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The almost last chapter!  
> Superfruit – Future Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for keeping you waiting!  
> It wasn't that easy for me to move on knowing that it is almost the end of the story.  
> And I am still not sure about the ending... what should I include, what I shouldn't. Should it be a clear ending or not.  
> Should I make a good ending?..  
> Anyways, I will finish the damn thing (= Your comments, kudos and suggestions are appreciated!

That was an old frenemy business. The one that is dangerous enough not to involve the Ventures.   
Tom Myers, one of the best OSI agents, was a skillful, smart and cunning person. None can be as good as him in spying or undercover missions.  And it couldn’t be a surprise that one day Brock and Tom had found themselves working together.

It hadn’t taken much time for the men to become somewhat friends. Their incredible duo had been considered as a key to success of any mission. Until one day two of the best agents had failed completely with the missing plans of new government submarine missiles.       

Brock had been furious and blamed the second agent in the loss. However, he hadn’t had any evidences to prove his point. And from that moment on Brock and Tom hadn’t been placed in one group together. But the blond agent had never forgotten Myers betrayal.

That is exactly why Brock didn’t start crashing everything all over the place after he had known that OSI superiors hadn’t contacted him. It had been his fellow agents that had found a way to expose Tom’s real face once and for all.

Anyways, Brock was eager to finish the business quickly as possible. He wasn’t pleased to leave Ventures with Hatred for a long time. However, despite the blond agent’s expectations, the whole thing took them not less than a week. And each day had been making the man more and more fidget and grumpy.

No surprise, that for Brock it was a blast to be flying back to New York and finally to be able to come home after the rather boring spy mission.   


"Hey, buddy" one of the new agents tapped the man on the shoulder. "Never imagined you could make that kind of a smile".  


The man chuckled in return. "Just glad this is over. Everything makes sense after all".   


"No, mate, you won't fool us. That is the face of home-sweet-home".  


"Stop talking gibberish" Shore Leave appeared from nowhere and waved his hand. "The super-straight-most-manly -guy-in-the-world is probably thinking about all the woman waiting for him in the town".  


"Yeap, sure" Brock nodded morosely and turned back to the window.

***  
After over an hour the whole Venture family gathered on the roof’s landing pad.  

Boys’ faces were full of genuine joy, they couldn’t wait to tell their bodyguard about the adventures they had.  And Rusty was standing beside with crossed arms, obviously, faking being a little grumpy. Brock had just smiled at the sight.

“Well, I guess, the mission went _great_ ” the scientists nodded and fixed his glasses.  


Brock shrugged in response “Kind of. It was extremely boring, actually. Happy to return to my daily routine, Doc”.  


They were looking at each other in silence for some time as they were trying to read one another’s mind.  And then Rusty smiled mildly.  Brock grinned in return.

“Heeey, stop ignoring me!” the irritated voice of Hank had brought both man into the reality.  The boy was hanging on the Brock’s arm trying to attract attention.   

***

Needless to say, the whole day had passed before Dr. Venture and his bodyguard could find themselves alone without anyone to interrupt.  Brock had a lot to ask and a lot to talk about, but all his enthusiasm disappeared as he suddenly felt the strange awkwardness being alone with the scientist.

“So, how have you been doing? I mean...” Brock made an obscure gesture with a hand.

“Oh, you shouldn’t be worry about that.  The last time I’ve hurt myself has been, hmm, that one case on the balcony, which you, of course, remember” Rusty smirked slightly and then raised his head to look right into his companion’s eyes. “I am honestly grateful for your help, Brock.”

“Oookay” the tallest man drawled in return waiting for the continuation.

“Yes, I am… I am really thankful you spent your time on my personal problems” he paused for a moment to formulate his thoughts.  “You know, I have been monitored by a psychologist since you left.  He says I’m recovering pretty fast, isn’t that great?.. I mean, you don’t have to spend all you free time on me or sleep with me”. The man suddenly shook “I mean, in one bed, obviously”.

Brock was standing silently with a poker face. He was frustrated as he couldn’t understand why all the staff Rusty had said felt so wrong also logically it was right. He just didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t used to relate on his feelings and he didn’t want to.

“Oh, c’mon, Brock” Rusty rolled his eyes and crossed arms. “I thought you would be happy!..  You can even go and check on Warriana right now”.

“Emm, yeah, why not…” the bodyguard took his jacket from the back of the coach and glanced at the smaller man. “Are you sure you don’t need… my help or something?”

“I’m fine, Brock. Just… have a good time. You deserve it.”

***

Hardly controlled sigh escaped Rusty’s lips after Brock had left. 

"I’ve done the right thing" he whispered sadly throwing himself on the coach.

"Everything will return back to normal" another heavy sigh.

"I’m totally fine" he put his head back with ragged breathing.

"No. I am _not_ fine" the man leaned forward harshly. "But it’s okay until Brock is fine. I will survive this!.. H.E.L.P.eR., I need my Doctail right here right now".

* _Concerned beeping_ *  


"Oh, stop it, you’re not my physician!.. And add more vodka this time, you hear me?"  
***  


Brock was shuffling his feet in front of the wooden door of Warriana’s apartment. He was hesitating.

"What am I even doing here" he thought. "I’m not in the mood for _that_... getting old, probably".

He had just stepped aside ready to turn back and then the door opened. A well-build brunet in a business suite walked out in the hall.

"Oh, sorry, haven’t noticed you" the stranger said after pushing Brock accidently. “Aren’t you a friend of Ana?.. What’s the name, let me recollect it… Something like Brick or may be Grog…”

“It’s Brock” the blond man screwed up his eyes.

“Yeeees, right. I’ve heard you had been a frequent visitor here” the man took off his brand glasses and rubbed them with a fancy hanky. “Sorry to say that, but you’ll have to cut down your visitations”.  


“Oh, yeah? And why is that?” Brock frowned and started to clench his teeth. He hated when someone told him what to do.

“I hope you didn’t get me wrong” the man grinned and put up a hand moving his fingers. “I am Ana’s fiancé. And, by the way, my name is Larck. Nice to meet you” he grabbed Brock’s hand and shook it with force.

“Anyways, I am off to my business now. I trust Ana, so I wouldn’t really mind you coming in” the brunet made a faint goodbye bow and was off.

Yet once again Brock was left standing still like a statue not knowing how to react. He couldn’t believe Warriana was engaged, it wasn’t like her at all. The man couldn’t believe it, because he’d always thought that they had been much alike. The situation seemed as ridiculous as if Brock himself had found a love of his life.

“That’s madness” he growled with tight fists and headed out. 

***  


"Yeaas,  H.E.L.P.eR., I am a hopeless case" Rusty was lying on the coach feeling himself even shittier after the fourth doctail on the empty stomach.   


"But I will _never_ _ever_ let this stupid ...addiction to ruin what I’ve already had”.

* _Motherly beeping_ *

“What?.. Are you crazy? Telling him so he could through me out from the rooftop?!"

He giggled. "You know, that doesn’t sound _so_ bad”.

That was just a joke. A bad one, a bitter one. Rusty had known that Brock would never hurt him intentionally. Brock was a loyal and trustful man, a friend, a family member. His beautiful guardian angel.  And that angel shouldn’t be scared off with some needless feelings.

“But let’s get it clear, H.E.L.P.eR.” the man lifted slightly. “I was addicted to drugs, drinking, woman and self-harming.  And now… I am addicted to Brock” he sat on the coach and threw his hand up.

“ _May be_. _May be_ it feels real.  May be I could think I am into him because of other things. But no. Hell no. It’s just another damn addiction that I am willing to get rid of on my own”.

**

The bar was almost empty in the middle of the night. It wasn’t the best place in town, but a place with disgusting swill to drink and bad music to listen. And Brock had been drinking there for a while now.

He had already felt dizzy because of all that poisonous shots he had taken. However, the alcohol had only increased the level of man’s unhappiness.  
He was just sitting in the corner of the bar counter while a stemmed glass was placed in front of him.  


“I didn’t order that” he said being annoyed and took a look at the content. “I don’t drink... cocktails”.  


“Feed this bullshit to someone else, boy” the familiar low voice ordered. “Be a man and drink this god damn cocktail already!” Hunter thumped the table angrily.  


“Real men don’t drink _that_.”  


Brock’s fellow looked offended and shouted furiously “Solder! Do you actually think that being a man relates to a drink choice?! Are you saying that _I am_ less of a man because I _love_ that refreshing Manhattan?”

“No! No, General, I didn’t mean it. Here, I’m gonna prove that” Brock grabbed the glass and drank it as a one shot. “It _is_ kind of refreshing” the man smiled faintly.  


“So! What is wrong with you, Samson? Sitting all alone in a shitty hole, trying to get drunk”.   


“I don’t know” Brock felt frustrated thinking about the question. “It’s probably cause of that crazy woman”.  


“Don’t give _me_ that crap!” the man spit on the floor with disgust. “I know _you_ and I know you _don’t_ like her that much! You respect her, for sure, such a great power in a great body!.. But she ain’t a reason of _you_ being a cry baby”.

General paused for a moment and suddenly jumped from the stool. Now he was standing tall above the Brock looking all powerful and formidable.   


“Yes, Brock Samson! I am calling _yo_ u a cry baby! Because _that_ is who you are! Instead of being a man and solving your own problems you are getting shitfaced!.. Do you know who is a real man, Brock?! Not the one who hates cocktails, not the one who despites being sappy, not the one who fucks all the woman he sees, but the one that gets what he _wants_ not giving a _shit_ about others opinion!.. Do you understand me, solder?!”

Brock was looking at Hunter with an epiphany trying to remember everything that had been said. “Yes. Yes, I got this, General. But I have one more question... Why do you have boobs again?”

 “Don’t ask me, boy! It’s your own dream after all! And would you drink your damn cocktail?..”

Suddenly Brock jumped up with a barman being tosses on the other side of the room. The guy had just being shaking the last visitor on the shoulder to wake him up and send home before closing.

“Emm, sorry” the bodyguard crocked. He glanced at the table and noticed a cocktail glass with green liquid in it. Without much thinking he took it down in one gulp and popped out from the bar.

**

Rusty was thoughtful enough not to get completely wasted - instead he just had fallen asleep right on the coach. However, the waking up still wasn’t pleasant for him: a light headache because of the bright lights and nausea had reasserted themselves.  


“I am getting too old for _that_ ” he grumbled and turned his face to the light switches.  
To the scientists surprise the person standing in the doorway was his bodyguard.  


“Hey, Doc”, the latter said breathing heavily.  


“Have you been running a marathon?..” Rusty asked with frowned brows and put on the glasses.  


“Almost” Brock calmed his breath and headed to the coach.   
The blond man sighed and then sat in the other corner. “I just need to talk to you before I may change my mind”.  


“You’ve been… drinking?” Dr. Venture had noticed the slight smell typical for a bad bar. “I thought you were going to visit… Wait, didn’t Warriana brush you off?”  
Brock rubbed his face with a palm; he clearly didn’t find the topic interesting.

“Actually, she’s been engaged. Although, it doesn’t really matter to me” the man answered eventually.  

Rusty didn’t like the way his friend look – something was off like if he had been making some tough decisions.

“Okay... So, what _exactly_ had happened that made you wake me up in the middle of the night? I mean, I wouldn’t expect you acting like that without a good reason”.  
Brock bit his lip in hesitation. The silence was making Rusty nervous; he could almost hear his own blood pumping in his veins.   


“That is too much” the smallest man couldn’t cope with the situation and jumped off the coach trying to hide in his bedroom. However, he was immediately caught by the strong arm and placed back, facing Brock even closer than earlier.  


“Now _you_ are acting strange, Doc” the bodyguard said holding his friends shoulders. “That doesn’t help my confession at all”.  


“Just stop getting on my nerves and spill it _out_ already!..” Rusty yelled with tightly closed eyes.  


Brock shook the smallest man harshly “I have feelings for you!” he said. “That’s all. I just have feelings for you”.  


“You what?..”  


The blond suddenly smirked. “Actually, I feel damn better after saying that. I do have feeling for ya, Rust. Don’t know how it’s happened but... But I’m so into you, that’s crazy”.  


“Oh my god, that’s even _wors_ e” the scientist sounded irritated and confused. “There’s _nothing_ to make such a content face for, Brock! You know what, I’m into you too, okay!.. Are you happy now?”

Rusty watched Brocks face slowly turned green. The next minute the bodyguard was puking one the floor.  
“Brock?..”  
The man turned his head; he still looked a little pale “I’m ‘kay. Just… probably too excited”.

He wiped his face with the arm and straightened up, “Sorry for that”.

“You know… I’ll just pretend this hasn’t happened” Rusty put his hands in the air. “So you can… you know, tell me more about feeling you have for me because… I don’t understand. You are a women’s man, Brock. And I am far away from being a woman. So how it may even work out? ”  


“Eeeem… I haven’t really thought about that”.

“What?!” Rusty goggled his eyes in disbelieve. “Are you seriously telling me that you have… platonic feelings for me? That’s called friendship, Brock!..”

The smallest man once again got up from his seat crossing his arms.

“Calm down, Doc!.. I know what friendship is, and _that_ doesn’t feel like friendship at all. It’s just… I couldn’t imagine myself being with another man… intimate”.  
“And _now_ you are just teasing me. I’m done! I’m done for tonight and I’m _fucking_ tired. We’ll talk tomorrow. And don’t! Don’t you even think to try sneaking in my room, get it? Good night, Brock”.


	7. It's Not Right But It's Okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, any relationship has to develop. Or does it?..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I bet you haven't expected me to be back. Me too, guys))  
> Sorry, sorry! I really want to finish this work well. So, here is the new chapter. Something is happening. Something is about to happen.  
> I'm, again, sorry about all the Past Perfect i used. I should have written in Present Simple all the story i guess XD  
> The music inspiration ->Queen - Let Me In Your Heart Again  
> WARNING: none! just tell me if I made any mistake <3  
> Also, if you want me to finish the fic faster - drop a kudo or leave a nice comment ^_^ Have a nice day!

The blond sunburnt man was standing on the edge of the roof peering into the sky. His hair was blowing in the wind, his eyes were squinting in the bright sunlight and his mind was reliving the moments when the jet hadn’t left yet.

“Why in the hell would you do this?” Brock had asked with irritation.    

“Haven’t you heard me the other times?” Dr. Venture had checked his watches impatiently and then had turned the head to the plane for a slight moment. “Listen, Brock, I don’t really have time for all this now. If we don’t take off immediately, we’ll be late for the convention. And you know how _important_ this is”.

“Yeah, I _know_ ” the broad-shouldered man in the black T-shirt answered sharply. “That’s why _I_ should go with you, but not this… clown!”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Rusty brushed the statement aside. “You have to stay with the boys. They are always getting in trouble, and I definitely don’t need _that_ on the convention. Well... Actually I’d like Dean to come with us as he helped with the development but here goes his college and blah blah blah...” the man shook his hands in a disparaging gesture. “So the best thing I can do as a father is to leave you here with them. And Sergeant Hatred… he can manage protecting me as he used to do when you were gone. So, there is nothing to worry about”.

The blond had clenched his massive fists “As your bodyguard I can’t let you risk your life like that”.

“But you can let the _boys_ risk _their_ lives, right, Brock?.. Don’t you remember that there aren’t any clones left, do you?!” the scientists had lost all of his composure at once, not being able to keep his voice low.

Two-more-than-friends had been staring at each other for a forever-lasting minute.  The bitter silence had filled the air.

“You have been acting strange lately, Rust” Brock had said solemnly. “I thought it’s been ‘cause of the convention. But… I’ve been wrong, I guess. This is something else, isn’t it?” Significantly, the smallest man had avoided looking at his companion’s eyes. 

“What’s going on?..  Is it something I’ve said or done?” The scientist had bitten his lip. It had seemed he had wanted to say something but finally had decided not to.

“Take care of the boys, Brock” the man’s voice had sounded somehow sad but firm.

And then he just had gone off with the rest of the group, leaving Brock on the windy rooftop. Not being able to see the jet on the horizon anymore, the bodyguard turned his back and frowned in reflectiveness.

All the previous three months had passed pretty smoothly for him personally. He hadn’t had to give up his habits or preferences but, indeed, he had got that and even more. When the man had felt the blood rushing through his veins, he had found a woman for a night or a fight for life. And the rest of the time he had spent with the person he cared about without thinking if his feelings had been wrong or right. And Rusty had been pretty much okay with the situation… or had he?..

 “Hank, Dean, come over here” Brock called the boys that had been standing on the roof all that time silently.  “Have you noticed anything strange in your dad’s behavior lately?.. Like scratching, ya know”.

“Scratching?” Hank screamed as loud as always. “You think pa has fleas!?”

“Eeeeeew!.. Now we all have them too!..” Dean’s face turned pale.

“What?.. No!” Brock rolled his eyes. “No one has fleas there. Forget I’ve asked you anything, boys”.

 “Okay, done! Anyway, pa could be _just_ in the mood” Hank raised his brows. “You know, like Sirena sometimes”.

**

It hadn’t been too long before Brock raised his arm and put the fingers on his communicator watches. As much as he didn’t want losing his temper again, he needed to know if the group had arrived safely. Rusty specifically.

"Eeeem… Hey, Brock. I am…" the familiar voice answered and the man it belonged awkwardly smiled.

"Where is Doc?" the bodyguard interrupted sharply.

"Well, he is on this fancy schmancy convention, you know. All this scientists, sponsors, government people..." Sergeant Hatred eventually noticed the deadly eye and coughed. "He asked me to wait outside, not to get bored. Aaaaand gave me the very important mission of answering the calls".

"This is just madness! ..Why did he give you the watches? Someone made him to?" Brock genuinely didn’t understand how in the hell Hatred had been able to let this happen.

On the screen Sergeant Hatred was shaking his head violently. "No, no, no!.. I think he just wants to focus on the scientist stuff. You don’t have to worry, Brock. The Venture is safe with me".  
The blond threw another deadly glance at the watches and ended the call.

Five minutes later he still had been sitting on the living room coach, his torso bent down, forearms leaning on the knees. Brock didn’t know what exactly had happened but he started to feel anxious all of a sudden. The feeling you couldn’t get rid of with the help of women, alcohol or fights.

Imagine if you had everything in your live to be happy. And then you lost something special that actually had been making everything worth it. Unfortunately, this is what the bodyguard experienced emotionally at that moment, although he didn’t quite understand why. 

Perhaps, Brock thought, he had become addicted himself.

**

Saying the convention had gone very well for the Venture Industries was like saying nothing really. Surprisingly Rusty’s, White’s and Billy’s efforts had paid off fully - they managed to interest some giant international trade company as well as the military sector. The fact led to the realization of the need in hiring people for testing and production.

"I admit, that was a mistake to fire all the employees my brother had" Dr. Venture sighed. "Don't think the pirate will manage _all_ of the work we are getting" he added in jest.

"Are you serious?!" Billy screamed. "We are _not_ taking all the offers, right?.."

"Well, we could try." Rusty shrugged yawning.

Billy grabbed his colleague’s sleeve and pulled him closer whispering "Do you _understand_ that we'll need to hire new qualified workers for that?.. Not some chip scums you always find”.

"Yes, yes, I understand" Rusty only rolled his eyes. "Just believe me, Billy. Everything will be _fine_ ".

"I don’t actually like this word coming out from you" the smallest man grumbled in return.  
At the sight of a scene Pete slightly smirked raising a glass of Champaign. Which, by the way, had surprisingly appeared from nowhere.

"And while searching for labour force, we could fix some of our products hidden flaws.  Probably" the albino winked perkily.

The mentioning of the flaws leaded to the hot discussion between Billy and White. As always two best friend started acting like they were in a kind of bubble. Not noticing anyone, fully absorbed by each other. That’s why Rusty felt a little bit like a third wheel and started peering into the crowd to find an entertainment.

"Well… I have to leave you, lovebirds, there for a moment" the scientist said throwing glances somewhere in the distance. Not expecting the response, he just moved forward through the people gathered around.

Rusty’s destination was in the far corner of the room, where he managed to notice a long-ago-lost-friend.  What a chance it could be that he would appear on such an event! But, for sure, it was the man. The older and more successfully looking version of himself. He was greatly taller than Rusty, had sleek brown hair and was dressed up in a brand new blue suit with a red tie, the thick cigar sticking out from the jacket’s pocket. Simply Storm, as he had asked to be called, although Rusty suspected the name had been just a made-up thing.

The very first time of their meeting had been so many years ago. It had been back in the schooldays. Well, obviously, boys hadn’t been able to meet in a school itself as Rusty hadn’t been attending one. He even hadn’t been communicating with children of his age at all. That’s why at the only occasion, when he had been exiled to a camp for children, he had been terrified.

Of course, this camp had been affordable only for wealthy and famous people. As the matter of fact, many of the kids had been sons or daughters of reach criminal families and had been able to mock or beat up the adventure boy almost without any consequences.   
Things had got better for young Rusty only after him being rescued by a leader of The Righteous Gang. The savior had been kind enough to take the red-haired boy in his band. There future scientist had started to produce small explosives and trap gadgets with the other intelligent gifted children.   
During this war-like experience, Rusty had got close with the Incredible Storm at some point (this is how everyone called the leader, and Rusty hadn’t even thought to ask for the real name). But soon enough his father Jonas had decided to take the boy home and never send him to a camp again as it had been a bad influence (the boy had become too perky). Rusty even hadn’t had time to say goodbye to his only friend and had believed he would never see the boy again.  
It had taken them about 14 years to meet again. And again the man had helped Rusty as he had done before but this time with the crazy bodyguard Mayra. Interestingly enough, soon the savior had disappeared being abducted by some kind of aliens. This event had left Rusty with the assumption about Storm not being just your average citizen.

Anyways, the red-haired man was intrigued to experience a blast from the past. It was a perfect distraction. And Dr. Venture thought he _needed_ a constant distraction not to have a mental breakdown.  He needed to take a break from all the gnawing feelings and disheartening thoughts.

***

"Say what?.." Brock’s face didn’t express anything and that was scary, because the tone of his voice didn’t match. "This supposed to be a one day thing. You don’t expect me to sit here on my ass for a whole week, would ya?" The man’s jaws clenched together threateningly and Sergeant Hatred swallowed at the sight of pumping veins on Brock’s neck.

"Well… Dr. Venture’s just asked me to say everything’s fine… a-a-aaand check on the boys".

"They are _fine_ ".

As soon as the screen turned black, Brock took the phone and called the very familiar number. He rubbed his eyes and after several dial tones got out casually:

"Hey, Warriana ".

***


	8. How hard is it to tell the truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter where everything fells into place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, ooooh man! My maaaan! I've done it!  
> The only thing left is to write a small epilogue.  
> Anyways, I hope you'll like this chapter! And, please, feel free to give me some advice on writing and not being too boring ;3  
> The song choice for the chapter - Queen Dreamer's Ball

"Theodore Lewis? Ahahaha", Rusty burst out laughing and wiped a tear. "What, are you British now?"

"Don't be so loud, buddy" the old friend answered with a slight smile. He moved a little bit closer and amiably armed the smallest man around.

The scientist didn’t consider stopping the mockery and continued chuckling "Oh, oh, that accent of yours! It's terrible, it's absolutely terrible!” For that he was shortly dragged out of the room being lead to unknown destination.

At some point, when there were no people around, Storm turned his head back at the companion and raised brows in disbelieve "Please, tell me, you aren't serious about my accent, dear. I don't want to know I've been practicing speaking like an English man in vain".

"Okay, okay, it's actually pretty impressive" Rusty admitted willingly. "Anyways, where are you taking me?.."

"To a safe place... Dr. Venture" the man made a playful emphasize on the last part. "We definitely need a place to talk without all this eyes and ears". He quickened his pace making Rusty almost running to keep up.

"Wait, wait, we aren't supposed to be here, are we?" the smallest man wondered looking around. The corridors they entered were, with no doubt, for the stuff only - the signs on the walls were suggesting so. The man smirked in return "Oh, Rusty, don't play a role of a law abiding citizen". 

Soon enough they found themselves on a little porch near the building’s back door. Its tiny backyard was empty and the outside seemed surprisingly nice after the crowded room.

Despite of this advantage, the men didn't stay there too long though. In short words they discussed their livings and explained the fact of being on the convention. And of course, Storm was the listening one, being vague while talking. The only thing Rusty got was that something different than science, wealth or fame had leaded the man to the event.

Mentioning that, several parties were hold during the week as the less formal continuation of the convention. For many people they would give the great chance to make contacts or do, probably not so very legal, business. "So, as I understand, it's absolutely necessary for you to be on the dinner party tomorrow?"

"Yes my friend. It was indeed good news for me, this party" Storm slowly blew a thick cloud of smoke from his thin lips. "Unfortunately, the organizer decided to announce it the last moment".

"Means?.." Rusty fixed his glasses and got comfortable on the porch's stairs.

"Means, I urgently need to find a partner". The scientist hummed at the thought. It had completely slipped his mind that the party was for couples only. How absolutely ridiculous!

"I don't think it's a problem for you to find a date" Rusty finally answered. "Look at yourself, it would be as easy as pie. Can't say the same thing about me". The smallest man couldn't hide a stab of jealousy. He was studying Storm carefully and the man he was seeing surly could be a perfect Casanova, a desired prize for both men and women.

"It's settled then, my dear Rusty", the man slapped the other one on the shoulder. "We'll go together as a couple!"

"Are you kidding?! Am not ready to come out in front of all this powerful people!" Dr. Venture bulged out his eyes at the possibility.

"Don't worry, Rusty. I promise you, nobody will even remember this fact later".

***

Billy woke up in absolute terror realizing that the sound he had heard was nothing else but a crack of the door pulled off its hinges. For some reason the lights in the room were off – it was, probably, Pete, who had heard the noise first and decided to hide in the darkness. So Quizboy without a double thought followed the example and sneaked under the blanket trying to calm his breath down. 

The crasher came in not saying a single word. At the moment he was moving around the room slowly as a cat playing with a mouse. When his steps were too close to the Billy's couch, the hiding man just couldn't manage this tension. He jumped from his place in the speed of lightning ready to bolt.

"Not so quickly", the disgruntled voice commanded. The man it belonged to grabbed Billy for the collar and brought him up right in front of the face. The intruder took his time in silence and then pushed the nearest light switch.

"Brock!" Billy looked a bit shocked. "What's going on?.."

"I hope they won't make us pay for this" Pete signed and get out from under the table.

Without any answer or explanation the blond man asked "Where is Rusty?"

"Where is Rusty... where..." Billy got lost in his thoughts for a moment. It seemed that a slight shake from Brock helped him to remember. "Oh, yes, of course!.. He is on this after convention party, right Pete?"

"Yeah, stupid party for couples only, bhla bhla bhla" the albino hemmed scornfully.  At this type of behavior Billy frowned and pouted "We could easily be on this _stupid_ party if only _you_ would swallow your pride, Mr. Straight Guy".

"Listen, I'm not here to listen to your stupid squabbles" Brock interrupted and unclenched the fist letting Billy fall back on the couch. "Tell me the exact location".

So, after about five minutes Brock was already rushing to the given address. He dropped by the suits boutique on the way to get himself one for the occasion. No one had dared to ask for a payment.

Fifteen minutes more and he managed to get into the mansion, which was holding the party. Interestingly, the security was pretty good there but nothing could stop Brock, especially now.

Without any delay he entered the main hall. The only mission he had was to find Rusty and get him home – obviously, the bodyguard started looking around for the familiar figure. He was so concentrated he didn't even notice some hangry glances from the beautiful bored women.

It wasn’t hard at all to find the man. He was standing near the far wall facing Brock's direction, his date standing opposite. The latter firmly placed hands on Rusty's shoulders making them both laughing at something.

It seemed that the entire world turned inside out when Brock had seen them. It was the first time after a month or so when the blond found Rusty looking truly happy. The bodyguard stopped in the middle of the room staring closely at the couple. Was it the _right_ thing for him to come?.. Was it the _right_ thing to even _be_ there calming Rusty should be by his side?.. He didn't feel jealous as much as he felt remorse for not being able to make Rusty happy enough.

At this thought Brock simply turned away and slowly headed to the exit. His heart skipped a beat, so for a second he stopped to throw a goodbye look back at the couple. And then his jaws clenched as he saw two men leaving the hall. " _This_ I would never forget you", Brock hissed and dashed after them.

***

For some time Dr. Venture was standing speechless while a fascinating scene was done in front of him. Two gorgeous men dressed in all fine clothing were rolling on the grass trying to strangle one another.

"I. Will. Kill. You" Brock promised huskily as his face was turning red.

"You. Can't. I’m. Still. In. OSI" the second man answered in the same manner with his eyes bulging.

Apparently, Brock turned out to be a little stronger than the other guy. While being down leaning his back on the ground, the blond man made an effort and kicked Storm away right into the handrail. "Fuck OSI" he spit and got up slowly. "But don't you fucking _dare_ screwing with Rusty. Get it, little crap?"

There was no time for the scientist to waist at this point. He rushed to his furious bodyguard and blocked the way "Brock, what are you doing?! Stop beating up my friend".

"He _isn’t_ your friend, Doc" the man balled up his fists. "He is Tom Myers, the little lying rat".

"What?.. Phhh, that's nonsense. I had met this man even before I met you! And his name is Storm. Or... Theodore" Rusty had frowned for a second at the thought. Meanwhile Brock moved much closer to the smallest man and harshly grabbed his shoulders. "Are you seriously saying, you don't believe _ME_ but believe _HIM_?.."

They were staring at each other silently for a whole minute. And finally Rusty rolled his eyes. "I've never that that! I just don't care about the past two of you shared. Listen, Storm has never done anything bad for me personally.  Quite opposite, actually!.. And as my bodyguard you must save me from _danger_ , not beat my friends!"

"Eeeemm, may I..." there was a faint voice at the background.

"Not now!" both Brock and Rusty shouted angrily at the same time and watched awkward Storm slowly retreating from the battlefield.

At the moment they were all alone next to the little rose garden adjacent to the house. And both of them were on edge. Brock simply wanted Rusty to come home and turn back to a content guy that had been happy watching movies with him or shooting at the range. The blond man didn’t understand all the hums, salty remarks and eye rolling that his friend had started giving him recently - and he didn't want to. Brock was too straight forward to solve such puzzles. And Rusty... Well, Rusty wanted completely different things.

"Why have you even came here at the first place?.." the smallest man asked with a worked-up voice. "I just wanted to have a rest from all of it! Just to think on my own and... make some decisions already!" He was throwing his arms in the air in a gesture of despair.

The blond man answered sharply at this with an irritated voice "I was missing you, Rusty. But now it turns out that you need a _rest_ from me. Why?" 

"Because!.." Dr. Venture cried aloud not being able to hide his hysterical condition any more. "Because I can't take it, Brock! I am... I am sorry I said I could but I can’t!" 

Brock was standing there with complete misunderstanding of the situation. He couldn’t put his finger on the things Rusty was apologizing for. So he simply asked "What are you even talking about?"

For a second the smallest man was getting his courage. He bit his lower lip and looked at the ground with strangely shining eyes. Right after that he was staring into his companions eyes boldly and yelled "I'm talking about physical contact, Brock!.. Argh, isn't it obvious!.. I just don’t see how you can like me but be disgusted to give me even a little kiss! That makes no sense to me. And I don’t think I can put up with this kind of relations any more pretending everything’s fine!..".

The bodyguard wasn't a calm one and gladly returned the favor of hot discussion. "Oh, you want a physical contact, yeah?" he said mockingly. "You want to be like _all_ the couples are, aren't you? You just need a _little_ kiss to be happy, right? Okay, you asked for it yourself!"

With no further hesitation Brock grabbed Rusty tightly and pulled to himself. Not even thinking he laid his lips on his friends’, the firm angry kiss it was. But what started as an assumed punishment slowly changed into something completely different and pleasant. Rustys’ fingers were buried into Brock's wavy hair and the latter was hugging his lover's waist sturdy deepening the kiss. It seemed it had been an eternity before the two of them moved apart smiling and breathless.

"I think, my head is spinning" Rusty whispered dreamy. "Same here" Brock answered with a low voice. They still were holding each other tight when Brock suddenly suggested "So, Dr. Venture, may I have this dance?" And indeed, the slow lovely music had been played in the mansion inviting lovers to join. Rusty only smiled wider and placed his arms in the right position.

And so, they were quietly dancing like that through the rest of the night not giving a damn about people’s screaming and smoke coming out from the building. 


	9. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sweet little nothings to make you feel warm ^_^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it, my friends!  
> May be I'm not so good at writing but I love this couple and I want it to be happy. I had a great joy writing this fanfiction and I always appreciate your support and advice <3  
> As all my later chapters were accompanied with the song, here is another one for you - Queen I Was Born To Love You

It’s a nice peaceful morning in the New York. The rising sun is gently touching Brock's face making him wake up and open his eyes slowly. He beams at the sight of sleeping Rusty, looking serene and so vulnerable.

The brawny man reaches his hand to caress his lover’s cheek gently while the latter slightly smiles. He rubs up against the given palm like a cat. “What time is it?” Rusty asks yawning.

“Something like five” Brock answers quietly and watches the other man open the eyes. “Really?.. Well, good night than” he says acting playfully discontent and turns away.

“Oh, no, I’m not approving that” the blond chuckles deeply and gets closer to Rusty. He hugs his lover from behind almost pressing the lips to his ear whispering “I have a problem only you can solve, baby”. Brock can imagine how the wide smile appears on his man’s face.

“Well, try to convince me than” Rusty purrs rolling over and cups Brock’s face leaning to give him a kiss of his life.


End file.
